UNESCO World Library of Science

Communication Materials

UNESCO Prizes and Awards in Science

Open Access to Scientific Information

A World of Science by theme: Biodiversity and land management

A Garden in the Desert (2013, AR, EN), on a survey of Qatar which found that vegetation was recovering in parts of Qatar, even if desert rangelands and coastal areas remain in poor condition

Sailing the Seas for Science (2013, EN,) interview on the current expedition of the Tara schooner, which is circumnavigating the Arctic Ocean to analyse the impact of the melting ice pack on marine life

Protecting a land of fire and ice (2013, EN, ES, GER), on efforts by Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve in Chile to promote sustainable tourism, to protect one of the planet’s last wildernesses and create jobs

Rebirth of a Hunter (2013, EN), on how a hunter in Vietnam’s Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve hung up his rifle to become a forest ranger after realizing that his prey, the langur (a primate), was on the brink of extinction

Getting out of Debt (2013, EN), on how countries of the Mediterranean Basin have become ecological debtors since 1961. UNESCO’s Venice office plans to encourage countries to introduce the ecological footprint concept into Southeast European school curricula

Genetic Pollution is Permanent (2013, EN), interview on the ethical implications of synthetic biology for the environment and human health

The Key to Managing Conflict and Cooperation over Water (2013, EN, ES, FR), introducing some of the main themes of the UN International Year of Water Cooperation led by UNESCO, together with case studies

Planning for an Uncertain Future (2012, EN, ES, FR), on the difficulties in reconciling supply and demand for an increasingly precious resource: freshwater

The Risks Associated with Large-scale Foreign Land Acquisitions (2012, EN, ES, FR), interview on the implications for developing countries of this growing trend towards what some have termed agrarian neocolonialism

Sandwatchers find a Market for a Weed (2012, EN, ES, FR), on a Kenyan youth group’s ingenious scheme for turning the invasive weed, water hyacinth, into ecoproducts

What Future for Biodiversity? (2012, EN, ES, FR), on the threat that climate change poses to biodiversity in North America in particular

All you ever Wanted to Know about Biodiversity… (2010, EN, ES, FR, RU), on an exhibition for all those who are afraid to ask

Fisheries in a Cod Climate (2010, AR, EN, ES, FR, RU), on why Norwegians of the north are confident that their local fishing economy will be able to withstand warmer waters better than the Norwegian economy as a whole

The Adventures of Patrimonito (2010, EN, ES, FR, RU), an adventure of the hero invented by the World Heritage Centre to alert children to environmental issues affecting natural and cultural World Heritage; this time, our hero comes to the aid of the animals living on an island invaded by pigs

Why the Financial Crisis is also an Opportunity (2009, AR, EN, ES, FR, RU), on why now is the time to green the global economy

Many of the World’s Most Endangered Species are Migratory (2007, EN, ES, FR, RU), on the threats hanging over migratory species

Why Modern Agriculture must Change (2008, AR, EN, ES, FR, MLY, RU), on the findings of a major international assessment involving UNESCO

Mayangna Knowledge Deep in the Heart of Mesoamerica (2008, AR, EN, ES, FR, RU), the Mayangna and Miskito peoples’ struggle to protect one of the last extensive areas of Central American tropical rainforest, in Boswas Biosphere

A Bad Year for Caribbean Corals (2008, EN, ES, FR, MLY, RU), on how exceptionally warm waters bleached much of the coral in the Caribbean

Saving the Remaining Wildlife in Darfur (2007, EN, ES, FR, RU) , on a survey of the rapidly vanishing wildlife in Radom Biosphere Reserve, the victim of the proliferation of automatic weapons and refugees as a result of the armed conflict in Sudan

The Rise of Animals, Part I (2007, EN, ES, FR, MLY, RU), Part II (2008, EN, ES, FR, MLY, RU), a two-part tale of how life evolved on Earth over the past 3.8 billion years

Why a Warmer World will be a Sicker World (2007, EN, ES, FR, RU), interview on how a warmer climate will allow vector-transmitted diseases to extend their geographical range

The Heat is On for Australia’s Forests (2007, EN, ES, FR, RU), on the impact on Australian biodiversity of projected climate change

The Last Frontier (2006, EN, ES, FR), on the legal vacuum surrounding exploitation of biodiversity in the deep sea

The Red Tide (2006, EN, ES, FR, RU) on the risks to human health and aquaculture of outbreaks of harmful algal blooms in the ocean

The Future of Drylands Revisited (2006, EN, ES, FR, RU), presents new research at a time when one-third of land on our planet is threatened by desertification

How Nature Supports People in Southern Africa (2005, EN, FR), an assessment of the state of this region’s ecosystems within a global study

The Silent World Revisited (2005, EN, FR), on the return to a village built on the floor of the Red Sea 40 years earlier by French naturalist Jean-Yves Cousteau, in order to learn more about the sea and how the human body reacted to a prolonged stay under water

Our Closest Relatives on the Brink of Extinction (2005, EN, FR), on UNESCO and UNEP’s attempts to protect the remaining Great Apes

Saving a Survival Kit for the Poor (2004, EN, FR), on a young woman scientist’s struggle to preserve mangroves in her native Tanzania

Small Islands Step into the Limelight (2004, EN, FR), on the socio-economic and environmental challenges facing small islands in the run up to the adoption of the Mauritius Strategy in 2005

Poverty and Reefs (2003, EN, FR), presents the findings of a study of South Asia by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the UK Department for International Cooperation and a UK-based research group

‘Africanizing’ Tropical Forest Management (2003, EN, FR), on the new regional postgraduate school (ERAIFT) set up by UNESCO and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the University of Kinshasa

UNESCO The International Year of Mountains (2002, EN, FR), on the launch of the GLOCHAMORE project to monitor global change in selected mountain biosphere reserves

Where Have all the Beaches Gone? (2002, EN, FR), on the threat tourism and other forms of coastal development pose to West African beaches

Protecting Himalayan Biodiversity (2002, EN, FR), on a study planned for Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in India on the virtues of large-scale cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants

UNESCO and Johannesburg (2002, EN, FR), on UNESCO’s strategy for following up the World Summit on Sustainable Development